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Small Change: The Complete Trilogy    by Jo Walton Amazon.com order for
Small Change
by Jo Walton
Order:  USA  Can
Tor, 2023 (2023)
e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Jo Walton's Small Change includes her entire alternate world historical fantasy trilogy: Farthing, Ha'Penny and Half a Crown. The action occurs in an England where, after the start of WW II, an upper-crust set took control from Churchill and came to terms with Hitler, even helping to fill his death camps in Europe - in exchange for peace in our time.

This deal with the devil leads England down a slippery slope, deeper and deeper into fascism. Individuals fight back. In Farthing, it's Lucy Kahn an aristocrat married to a Jew. Another member of the upper crust, actress Viola Lark, joins a plot to bomb Hitler in Ha'Penny. Inspector Carmichael, a secret homosexual, plays a part in all three episodes. Threats to his lover keep him working for the government, despite an uneasy conscience. Carmichael's young ward Elvira also plays a key role in Half a Crown.

Though Walton's Small Change world diverges from our own history, her themes are universal, and her messages should strike uneasy modern consciences just as hard as they hit her protagonists. This trilogy is a must read for fantasy fans and anyone concerned with civil liberties today.

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